FROM OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION OFFICE

TELEPHONE: (541) 737-3720 / (610) 417-9074                                

CONTACT: MATT FRANZBLAU                                                          

WWW.OSUBEAVERS.COM                                                          

 

Saturday, March 23, 2012

 

Oregon State Wrestlers Close Out NCAAÂ’s in Eighth Place, Best Finish for BeavsÂ’ Since 1996

 

OSU Crowns three All-Americans, scores 48.5 points and finishes in sole possession of eighth place at the end of the championships

 

DES MOINES, Iowa – Even though Oregon State did not have any wrestlers competing in championship matches Saturday night inside Wells Fargo Arena, there was still cause for celebration as the Beavers held onto eighth place at the 2013 NCAA Championships, their best finish since 1996.

 

At the end of competition, OSU had tallied 48.5 total points, which put them three full points ahead of Illinois and five in front of Virginia Tech, who finished ninth and 10^th respectively. As a team OSU went a fitting 20-13 during the three day competition in 2013 and placed three wrestlers within the top five.

 

It is also of note that for the second straight season, head coach Jim ZaleskyÂ’s squad produced three All-Americans and had one wrestler finish as high as fourth. Unlike last season, when one of the All-American trio was a senior (HWT, Clayton Jack), this time around, all of ZaleskyÂ’s All-Americans will return to the program for at least one more season.

 

Scott Sakaguchi (Jr., 149 lbs.), RJ Pena (Jr., 157 lbs.) and Taylor Meeks (So., 197 lbs.), were the ones marching in the parade of All-Americans this year before the tournamentÂ’s championship session. The trio is no stranger from sharing the lime light as each are roommates while in Corvallis. Sakaguchi is the lone two-time All-American out of the group, while Meeks is the first underclassmen Orange and Black grappler to finish in the top five since 1992, when sophomore Babak Mohammadi did the same. Pena was the only one out of the three that wrestled eighth matches, losing only one following his first round defeat.

 

Looking back at the tournament, Oregon StateÂ’s most productive day was Friday (Day No. 2), as the team reeled off 25 points and crowned three All-Americans. OSU set the tone for a successful tournament on Day No. 1 (Thursday) with 16 team points and finished strong on Saturday (Day No. 3), with a clutch 7.5 points to solidify their eighth place finish.

 

The last time an Oregon State team finished as high as eighth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships was 1998, when former head coach Joe Wells led his team to back-to-back-to-back top 10 finishes. Zalesky already has had back-to-back top 10 NCAA Championship performances from his teams the last two seasons and will look to add his third in-a-row in 2014 at the NCAAÂ’s in Oklahoma City.

 

OREGON STATE RESULTS
**Through Session VII –FINAL**
141 lbs.
No. 3 Mike Mangrum (2-2)
(3.21) Mike Mangrum def. Nicholas Hucke (Missouri) Dec. (6-4) OT
(3.21) Mike Mangrum def. Trevor Melde (Rutgers) Dec. (4-2)
(3.22) Undrakhbayar Khishignyam (Citadel) def. Mike Mangrum Dec. (3-2) 3OT
(3.22) Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) def. Mike Mangrum Dec. (5-3) 3OT

 

NEXT UP    à     (3) Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) 39-5
*Did Not Place

149 lbs.
No. 7 Scott Sakaguchi (5-2)
(3.21) Scott Sakaguchi def. Blake Roulo (Buffalo) Dec. (12-5)
(3.21) Scott Sakaguchi def. Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue) Dec. (4-1)
(3.22) Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) def. Scott Sakaguchi Dec (3-2) 3OT
(3.22) Scott Sakaguchi def. Donald Vinson (Binghamton) Dec (2-1)
(3.22) Scott Sakaguchi def. Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) Dec. (8-5)
(3.23) Steve Santos (Columbia) def. Scott Sakaguchi Dec. (4-2)
(3.23) Scott Sakaguchi def. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri)  Dec. (6-5)

 

NEXT UP    à     (7) Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) 30-8
*FINAL PLACE -- FIFTH

157 lbs.
No. 10 RJ Pena (6-2)
(3.21) Josh Demas (Ohio State) def. RJ Pena Dec. (7-6)
(3.21) RJ Pena def. Luke Smith (Central Michigan) Pin (2:29)
(3.22) RJ Pena def. Zac Cibula (Rider) Dec. (10-4)
(3.22) RJ Pena def. Scott Winston (Rutgers) Dec. (8-1)
(3.22) RJ Pena def. George Ivanov (Boise State) Dec. (3-2)
(3.22) RJ Pena def. James Fleming (Clarion) Maj. Dec. (8-0)
(3.23) David Bonin (Northern Iowa) def. RJ Pena Pin (5:39)
(3.23) RJ Pena def. Jedd Moore (Virginia) Maj. Dec. (11-2)

 

NEXT UP    à     (10) RJ Pena (Oregon State) 38-8
*FINAL PLACE -- FIFTH

174 lbs.
Cody Weishoff (0-2)
No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) def. Cody Weishoff Dec. (5-4)
Stephen West (Columbia) def. Cody Weishoff Dec. (4-2)

 

NEXT UP    à     Cody Weishoff (Oregon State) 16-11
*Did Not Place

184 lbs.
Ty Vinson (1-1)
(3.21)  No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) def. Ty Vinson Maj. Dec. (12-0)
(3.21)  Ty Vinson def. John Rizqallah (Michigan State) Dec. (5-0)
(3.22) Daniel Rinaldi (Rutgers) def. Ty Vinson Dec. (3-2)

 

NEXT UP    à     Ty Vinson (Oregon State) 17-12
                                *Did Not Place

197 lbs.
No. 5 Taylor Meeks (4-2)
(3.21)  Taylor Meeks def. Maxwell Huntley (Michigan) Pin (1:49)
(3.21)  Taylor Meeks def. Jackson Hein (Wisconsin) Dec. (4-3)
(3.22) Taylor Meeks def. Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) Pin (4:54)
(3.22) Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) def. Taylor Meeks Dec. (8-6)
(3.23) Taylor Meeks def. Scott Schiller (Minnesota) Maj. Dec. (11-3)
(3.23) Matthew Wilps (Pittsburgh) def. Taylor Meeks Tech Fall (17-2)

 

NEXT UP    à     (5) Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) 36-7
*FINAL PLACE – FOURTH

HWT
No. 4 Chad Hanke (2-2)
(3.21) Chad Hanke def. Kevin Innis (Boston) Pin (0:41)
(3.21) Chad Hanke def. Ernest James (Edinboro) Dec. (4-0)
(3.22) Michael McMullan (Northwestern) def. Chad Hanke Dec. (5-3)
(3.22) Odie Delaney (Citadel) def. Chad Hanke Pin (4:22)

 

NEXT UP    à     (4) Chad Hanke (Oregon State) 35-5
*Did Not Place

 

Matt Franzblau

Communications Assistant
W Soccer, Wrestling, M&W Rowing
Oregon State University Athletics

219 Gill Coliseum

Corvallis, Oregon 97331

Office:  (541) 737-3720
Cell: (610) 417-9074

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